symphonia partners for possibility programme · 2016-04-01 · iqra academy principal, mr samodien,...

Symphonia Partners for Possibility ProgrammeIQRA Academy and Nedbank Group – A case study

Changing lives and building communities

Contents

About IQRA Academy 02

Defining goals and outcomes 04

Understanding the challenges 04

Delivering on the focus areas 06

Achieving sustainable outcomes 07

Reflections by Shamila 08

Reflections by Mr Samodien 09

When she completed her schooling, Shamila Abrahams had no idea that she would one day return to partner with the principal, Mr Samodien, who had been her Grade 8 teacher. But that’s precisely what the Symphonia Partners for Possibility programme enabled her to do. Together these two dynamic individuals have harnessed their passion for positive education outcomes to make a lasting difference to the school, and community, that means so much to both of them.

Over the course of 2015, Shamila, who is a Senior Business Development Manager for the Wealth Management Division of Nedbank Group, worked closely with IQRA Academy principal, Mr Samodien, to help drive the transformation of the school, its governing body and its educators so as to deliver enhanced, sustainable education outcomes that offer learners a solid foundation on which to achieve the futures they deserve. In the process, this dynamic partnership has served to motivate many parents and caregivers of learners at the school to become more involved in the education of their youth and to work together towards the achievement of more sustainable communities as a whole.

IQRA Academy and Nedbank Group

A case study – IQRA Academy and Nedbank Group 01

About Symphonia Partners for Possibility

Symphonia for South Africa (SSA) is a non-profit organisation headquartered in Bellville in Cape Town. It has the bold vision to deliver quality education for all children in South Africa by 2022, and one of the key vehicles through which it is working to deliver on this vision is the Partnering for Possibility programme (PfP).

Founded in 2010, PfP was established on the understanding that enhancing the quality of education, improving the school environment and facilitating engagement between parents, teachers and communities will generate an upward spiral of real change in South African society as a whole. The programme seeks to place participating schools at the centre of their communities in order to drive radical transformation for all stakeholders.

By creating such a co-action, co-learning partnership between school principals and business leaders, PfP not only offers a creative solution to South Africa’s education crisis, it also enables greater social cohesion and empowers educators to become change leaders.

IQRA Academy is located in Belhar in the Western Cape. This semi-private school offers a comprehensive education programme for approximately 200 grade 8 to grade 12 learners. The academic learning outcomes are aligned with the Western Cape Education department’s syllabus, but the school’s methodology and approach is founded on the principles and values of Islam. Many of the learners come from nearby disadvantaged communities. The school has a small staff complement of 21, including administrative functions, and it relies heavily on donations and fundraising for the financial means to deliver its education programme.

As both a teacher and principal at the school, Mr Samodien was passionate about the role he could play* in leading the educators and learners to higher levels of personal success and achievement, while ensuring the school serves as a catalyst for more widespread sustainable development in the communities it serves.

* Note: At the end of 2015, Mr Samodien was approached to head up the Al Madinah International University in South Africa. While this means he will no longer be actively involved in the day-to-day management of IQRA Academy, he has been retained on the Board of Governors and is determined to build on the foundations he and Shamila laid through their involvement in the Partners for Possibility programme.

About IQRA Academy


IQRA Academy, Belhar, Western Cape.

IQRA Academy relies heavily on donations and fundraising for the financial means to deliver its education programme.

The school’s methodology and approach is founded on the principles and values of Islam.

Shamila Abrahams, who is a Senior Business Development Manager for the Wealth Management Division of Nedbank Group, worked closely with IQRA Academy principal, Mr Samodien, to help drive the transformation of the school, its governing body and its educators so as to deliver enhanced, sustainable education outcomes that offer learners a solid foundation on which to achieve the futures they deserve.


At the outset of the partnership, Shamila and Mr Samodien recognised the importance of clearly setting out what they hoped to achieve through their involvement in the Partners for Possibility programme. They identified the following three key focus areas:

• Focusarea1:Creategreatersynergybetweenlearners,educators and parents.

• Focusarea2:Encourageamorepositivemindsetamongstlearners.

• Focusarea3:Createaneffectivelearningenvironment.

These high-level focus areas were supported and informed by a number of key objectives and desired outcomes, the most significant of which were:

• Tobuildcapacityandimproveparticipationby,andmoraleamongst, educators.

• Tohelpmakethelivesofeducatorseasierthrougheffectivesupport and learning.

• Toraisetheperformanceoflearners,particularlyinGrade12.• Toenthusethelearnersandmotivatethemtobemore

involved in their school through focused leadership programmes.

• Toenhancesynergiesbetweenlearners,educators,parentsand community members.

• Toprovidelearnersandeducatorswiththetoolsandresources they need to encourage effective learning.

• Tocreateopportunitiesforparentsandcommunitymembers to become more involved in the school and their communities.

• Toaffordparentsandcommunitymembersanopportunityto learn lessons and gain insights from one another that they can then apply to their respective workplaces going forward.

‘While our initial involvement in the programme centred mainly on developing physical resources for the school, it quickly evolved into far more. Within a few weeks, we recognised the massive value that we could unlock through the programme, not only in terms of delivering benefit to IQRA Academy, but also by way of strengthening the communities around the school.’Mr Samodien

Understanding the challenges

Given its relatively small staff complement, the underprivileged backgrounds of many of its learners and its reliance on fundraising to cover running costs, IQRA Academy faced a number of significant challenges. The most significant of these included:

• Communitypovertyresultinginalackofresourcesandlow self esteem amongst some of the learners.

• Loweducatormoraleasaresultofachallengingworkenvironment and a less than optimum school management structure.

• Lackofmotivationamongstlearners,fewofwhomdisplayedpride in their work or their school.

Defining goals and outcomes


At the outset Shamila and Mr Samodien recognised the importance of clearly setting out what they hoped to achieve through the programme.

Given its reliance on fundraising to cover running costs, IQRA Academy faces a number of significant challenges.


IQRA Academy offers a holistic learning experience that balances academics and extracurricular activities. These activities include soccer, basketball, chess, choir and participation in quizzes.

Focus area 1: Create greater synergy between learners, educators and parents.A key component of the programme is the workshops made available to the partners. Shamila and Mr Samodien attended the Community Building and Flawless Consulting workshop, which resulted in a complete paradigm shift for them in terms of understanding the value they could add to one another, and the school, through their vast respective levels of experience in the corporate and education environments.

Based on this understanding, the partners then set about restructuring the staff and management team at the school so that some of Mr Samodien’s duties could be taken over by other teammembers, thereby freeing him up to be more effective in running the school as a whole.

To ensure that this process then cascaded down into greater synergies amongst the various stakeholders, the partners followed a three-pronged approach involving:1. a collaborative process of redefining the job descriptions

of many of the staffmembers;2. the sourcing, funding (primarily by Nedbank) and rollout

of learning tools, including projectors and screens for classrooms; and

3. enabling and encouraging innovation amongst educators and learners through an ‘innovation programme’ that saw them offering ideas on how to enhance the school and its learning outcomes.

Focus area 2: Encourage a more positive mindset amongst learners.Shamila and Mr Samodien recognised that the key to achieving more positive learner attitudes in the school was encouraging and enabling them to develop leadership skills. To achieve this, the partners leveraged their extensive respective networks as well as the circle of schools with which they were connected through the programme.

This focus culminated in the attendance of a learner leadership development workshop. Using the learnings gleaned from this

workshop, the partners worked with various educators at the school to implement various activities in which learners could participate in order to bring their natural leadership qualities to the fore. These activities included the school’s participation in the annual Argus Quiz as well as the establishment of a school choir that was well supported by the learners.

Focus area 3: Create an effective learning environment.Through the partnership, and with the buy-in of educators and parents, the fundraising efforts of the school were enhanced, which enabled IQRA Academy to provide its staff and learners with better access to learning tools and an enhanced learning environment.

As part of their focus on learner development, the partners implemented Project Ignition, which sees external personal development professionals conducting weekly programmes with learners across all the grades aimed at helping them recognise and realise their full potential.

A significant focus for Shamila and Mr Samodien was the need to develop creative thinking and innovation for all stakeholders in the school. Educators, in particular, were encouraged and coached to look beyond day-to-day operations and challenges with a view to developing leadership, raising morale and rekindling their passion for education.

The partners also identified a clear need to work with the parents of learners and partner with them to enhance their parenting skills in order to create the solid home foundations on which their children can build better learning performance.

In terms of sustainability, Shamila introduced the Nedbank Caring for Communities and Teach Children to Save programmes to IQRA Academy and all the schools in the circuit. As a result, all eight schools received community sustainability training, had vegetable tunnels erected on their grounds and offered their learners the opportunity to learn more about financial wellbeing through ‘Teach children to Save’ workshops presented by Nedbank experts.


Delivering on the focus areas

The results of the focus on these three areas by Shamila and Mr Samodien have been very positive as evidenced by the measurable and non-measurable outcomes achieved over the 18-month period of the formal partnership:

Measurable outcomesIn terms of its matric results, IQRA Academy has been transformed from an underperforming school to a high-performing one. From a 57% matric pass rate in 2012, the results improved dramatically to a 94% pass rate in 2014 – which is well above the national average. The number of bachelor passes attained by matrics of the school rose 10% year-on-year.

Hassan Firfrey, a matric learner at the school in 2014, achieved five distinctions, including 99% for Business Economics and 95% for Economics.

IQRA Academy also received certificates from the Western Cape Education Department for ‘Excellent Results’ and ‘The most improved school in its circuit’.

And the positive results aren’t limited to IQRA matrics. Across the board, the results of all grades showed a marked improvement, with the school achieving a 100% pass rate for grade 8 to 10 learners at the end of 2014.

As a result of the improvement in overall academic performance, the appeal of IQRA Academy amongst parents in the surrounding communities has risen significantly. Applications for enrolment are up from previous years, with a number of learners who have demonstrated good performance at other schools now seeking enrolment at IQRA.

Non-measurable outcomes‘It is an absolute joy to be at IQRA Academy now. The soul of our school is healing.’

Educators and staff have noted a marked improvement in the motivation of learners at IQRA Academy over the past year, as well as a greater sense of pride in their school.

Once the educators realised that the changes at the school did not represent a threat to them, they embraced those changes and became drivers of it. There is a far stronger sense of camaraderie amongst staff, and they are increasingly seeing themselves as members of the same team, with a shared vision for the school. Overall, morale levels of staff have improved as they have witnessed the learners becoming more involved in their school. The positive results of this can be seen not only in the academic results, but also in the improved outcomes of fundraising activities and greater involvement by educators and learners in extra-curricular activities and sports.

Parents have also become far more willing to make a meaningful contribution to the success of the school. Here, too, the positive results can be seen in the enhanced success of fundraising events and better attendance by parents of school functions.

‘Transforming a community is immensely powerful and, when accompanied by economies of scale, this drives real change in broader society.’Shamila

‘The school and the networking opportunities as a consequence of the Partners for Possibilities initiative provide us with amazing opportunities to engage with other principals who could identify with our frustrations and give us advice on how to deal with the various challenges. I felt supported and inspired and the possibilities became endless.’Mr Samodien


Achieving sustainable outcomes

On leadership

‘My leadership style has shifted from one of giving instruction to one in which I seek to lead through positive influence and with community interest at heart.’

‘One of the most valuable lessons I learned from Mr Samodien is to trust the process. When I first entered into this programme, I felt uncomfortable if I didn’t feel like I had total control over a situation. My experience at IQRA Academy has shown me the importance of letting go of that need to control and, instead, allowing the established processes to deliver the outcomes for which they are designed.’

On personal growth

‘I learned to appreciate the simplicity of life and embrace the small changes, as these ultimately add up to big change.’ On collaboration and partnership ‘Communication and acknowledgement are vitally important to maximise the effectiveness of collaboration.’

Reflections by Shamila


Shamila Abrahams, Senior Business Development Manager: Nedbank Wealth.

On leadership

‘While encouraging the educators to take ownership of their actions and outcomes was a core component of the development journey, we also recognised that patience is key. Every educator is different and adopts new ideas at a different pace. Trying to force change is counter-productive; you have to create an environment for it and then allow it to happen.’

‘Transformation is never easy; and if you want to drive it, you need to do so with empathy and understanding.’

On personal growth

‘After so many years as an educator, I believed I knew everything there was to know about running a school. My involvement in the programme opened my eyes to the fact that I still have so much to learn – much of it from my own educators and, even, from the learners at the school. As a result, my approach now is to instruct less and listen more, and I am already seeing the positive results of this change in mindset.’

On education in South Africa

‘In a country where roughly 80% of schools are performing below their true potential Partners for Possibility has the potential to make a massive impact. It is the type of programme that will benefit any person who is willing to be a part of it and is open to discovering just how much they still have to learn in order to maximise the positive impact they can have on others.’

On the Partners for Possibility programme

‘Being a part of the Partners for Possibility programme has opened my thinking, not just in terms of my leadership of the school, but also around the many possibilities that can be unlocked for education as a whole in South Africa.’

Reflections by Mr Samodien


Mr Samodien, principal of IQRA Academy.

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symphonia partners for possibility programme · 2016-04-01 · iqra academy principal, mr samodien,...

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